When I left university I travelled around India for a few months over the summer, returned home for a month or so, found myself a job and swiftly moved out into a flat in London. So at 26 years old I did not think that I would be sat here writing a blog about the reality of moving home… (I actually thought I would be married with a baby by 28… Ha!). I spent the best part of 5 years living in London and mostly had an amazing time. The majority of my friends also live there, so it was usually fun and exciting. Don’t get me wrong, London definitely has its faults (cramped, hectic + polluted being my worst), but I didn’t move home because I hated it. It was because of … you guessed it … money!

Living in a big city is expensive, particularly London. You pay a significant amount of your salary towards your rent each month and then have to spend a wad of cash on actually ‘living’.So when I decided that I wanted to quit my job (in property) and make a huge career change, I had to consider the likely prospect of having to move home. This is a consideration and/or reality that is becoming more and more prevalent for us ‘Millenials’… we don’t get paid as much as our parents did at our age, yet living costs are significantly higher … cool! Well no, it’s not cool AT ALL … it’s a relatively depressing reality that we have to come to terms with… but my message here is not all doom and gloom!

For those of you shuddering at the thought of moving home, I want to share my experience with you. In short, it has been unexpectedly liberating. It has given me a much-needed moment to breathe, a chance to get my ducks in a row whilst I figure out what my next moves will be. You might assume that you would have a sense of loss of independence, but I really haven’t felt that at all. Sure… mum wants to know when I will be around and what I would like for dinner (so spoilt!), but otherwise I am left to my own devices.

I have consciously kept a positive mind-set about why I moved home. I left a job that I was unhappy in… I’ve been able to pursue a creative career path… I’ve found something I enjoy (working at Hello Grads) and I am developing my knowledge in digital marketing at the same time (doing Google Squared course)… Living at home has given me the flexibility to choose what I want to do with my life. This has had an incredible effect on the way I feel, my motivation to achieve my goals and generally having a positive outlook on the next chapter of my life.

My reasoning behind moving home may not be the same for everyone living at home, but the benefits are likely to be similar. With massively reduced living costs, I am able to save money and have started clearing the remainder of the debt I racked up in my early 20s (yep… hindsight is a beautiful thing). It’s a great feeling to know that when I do move out, I will have (finally) learnt how to properly save. I hope I will have got hooked to that warm feeling inside when you look at that figure creeping up and up!

Other than financial pressure being alleviated, I have found that living at home has naturally meant my pace of life has slowed down a little. I am not out every night during the week socialising (yes of course at times I wish I was), but actually this has given me the opportunity to really focus on my work and what I want to achieve in the near future. I dip in and out of my social life in London as and when I please and for me (right now) this suits me perfectly. I am very lucky to have two incredibly supportive parents, who are very happy for me to live at home whilst I am forging a new career path. I keep them sweet by plying them with wine most nights (just kidding!)… I help out. I have made sure that I haven’t returned to my bratty 16-year-old self where I would moan at the sheer mention of helping to do … well anything! My parents, like most, just don’t want to feel like they are running a hotel!

So yes, living at home in your 20s is becoming a reality for more and more of our generation… but my message is … it can be hugely positive! Embrace it and make the most of the situation. Take the opportunity to take a breather and focus on what you want and how you will make it happen.

Ultimately you’re not going to be there forever… so enjoy it! 🙂

Lotty